John Lambert began his career as an actor, clown and teacher, having studied with Philippe Gaulier and performed at Canada’s Stratford Shakespearean Festival and the Cirque du Soleil. Programmer of Street Performance for 7 years at Montreal’s International Jazz Festival, John opened his agency in 1996. John Lambert & Assoc. represents, from Canada: CIRQUE ALFONSE (Animal – in creation, Tabarnak & Barbu), RONNIE BURKETT THEATRE OF MARIONETTES (The Daisy Theatre, Forget Me Not) & DULCINEA LANGFELDER (Victoria), plus from France: PATRICE THIBAUD (Cocorico & Franito) & CIRQUE LE ROUX (The Elephant in the Room & Deer in the Headlights) - pioneers in mixed media, puppetry, and circus arts.
After graduating with a degree in PoliSci, I caught the acting bug and ended up studying with Philippe Gaulier in Paris following a 3-year stint at the Stratford Shakespearean Festival in Canada. I then lived what I call my 'artistic menopause (andropause?) and directed my interest towards arts administration. I began by working as the international development guy for Dynamo Theatre and then opened my agency in 1996 focusing my efforts on representing cross-disciplinary new-creation work from Canada and abroad.
Organisation/Company
Name: John Lambert & Assoc.
My Role: Agent Manager
Founded in 1996, my agency, John Lambert & Assoc. has over the years helped develop the careers of a number of artists both at home in Canada and abroad. On occasion we have also represented international artists notably from France and Australia. In the past we have represented Cirque Eloize, William Yang, ScrapArtsMusic, Michel Lemieux Victor Pilon 4dArt, and Bangarra and Les Deux Mondes and now represent Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes, Dulcinea Langfelder and Cirque Alfonse from Canada as well as Cirque le Roux and Patrice Thibaud from France.
Iwi affiliation
Born in Toronto Canada and descended from settlers from the Orkney Islands in Scotland and Lancashire in England
Rohe
I now live in Montreal. I had always studied French in school so that the province of Quebec always held a fascination. While wonderfully multicultural, Toronto did not make it easy feel that I was living also in a bilingual country. Montreal beckoned.
How I got where I am today
Artistic menopause. I had been an actor in Toronto and after studying with Gaulier in Paris, I found myself in Montreal for work and discovered the array of talent in Quebec while attending the first edition of CINARS in 1984. I wanted to make a festival of Quebec work in Toronto but had no management experience so decided to spend the next year getting some. After this, rather that make the festival in Toronto, I simply moved to Montreal and found myself hired by an acrobatic theatre company that needed someone to help them get their work out into the world. After five instructive years helping them tour to Japan, Europe, South America, the USA and Australia, I decided to create my own agency drawing on my own artistic instincts to choose the artists for whom I could advocate.
Whānau
The artists I work with and love and the arts professionals with whom I have developed friendships and sometimes collaborations over time. Most of all. my Indonesian partner, a rather stunning visual artist I must say..., with whom I have been on a voyage of discovery and now transition.
Something cool
In Montreal. we are shut down pretty much... but recently I noticed people cross-country skiing in some of the parks. I remembered that I had skis in the basement so I hauled them out, prepared them and headed out to the Botanical Gardens. Seems that ski technology has evolved ... mine are wooden (beautiful btw) made in Norway 30 years ago while modern skis are of a composite. So turns out, I am the only one with wooden skis and there is always someone who comments that their dad or grandfather (ouch) had skis like mine. But the snow is great and skiing makes the feeling of confinement vanish for a just a bit.
The Performing Arts Network of New Zealand (PANNZ) Arts Market is New Zealand's premiere event for artists, producers, presenters and industry leaders from across the performing arts sector.
The Performing Arts Network of New Zealand (PANNZ) Arts Market is New Zealand's premiere event for artists, producers, presenters and industry leaders from across the performing arts sector.